


A Little Bit of Seasonal Adventure

by TheIntelligentHufflepuff



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Gen, Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 17:19:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8999815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheIntelligentHufflepuff/pseuds/TheIntelligentHufflepuff
Summary: Teddy Lupin goes exploring one Christmas Eve and happens across some interesting company.





	

Teddy had spent Christmas at a lot of places in his long twelve years of life. His gran’s. Mrs Weasley’s. Uncle Harry’s. But none had looked quite so impressive as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry dressed up for the season. Thick garlands of holly, ivy, and pine were twined around every bannister, glimmering gently with tiny magic lights. Mistletoe curled over each doorway and the corridor ceilings were adorned with perpetual showers of shimmering stardust, melting into the atmosphere just above passerby’s heads and leaving the sweet scent of frankincense in their wake. The great hall was even more impressive. Tinsel looped around the floating candles, the three massive trees laden with glass icicles, beads, baubles and paper chains that sang a different harmony per colour. Even the Fat Lady had put in an effort, shiny snowflakes appearing in place of her normal jewellery, and you couldn't see Hufflepuff common room for the peppermint scented never-melting snow coating every surface. All in all, a sense of magic coated the school quite apart from the usual energy. 

 

And on Christmas Eve it had Teddy itching to get out of bed and explore. There was no-one to stop him, all of his bunkmates having left to spend Christmas at their own homes. The only teachers around were Professor McGonagall, Uncle Harry, and Neville Longbottom, none of whom were likely to punish him too severely. And, glancing at the clock on the wall, it was actually past midnight anyway so technically it was Christmas Day. All good. 

 

Mind set, Teddy hopped out of bed and rummaged around on his floor for something to wear that would stave off the chill of the castle at night in mid December. He emerged from the Hufflepuff dormitory ten minutes later clothed in a fluffy dressing gown and his school shoes, having heard enough about Uncle Harry’s adventures to understand the importance of good footwear to escape in. 

 

Teddy took a deep breath, and began to creep along the edges of the darkened tunnel connecting the common room to the main building. He hadn't even reached the first dim lamp when something cold and wet suddenly pressed against his leg, freezing him in place. Clutching his wand, mind a litany of enchantments, Teddy turned to face his formidable foe. Only he didn't find any one of the dastardly creatures he’d envisioned. He found his cat. 

 

“Nimmy!” He admonished. She was only a kitten, snowy white and about the size of an adult’s hand, but she liked to be involved in his journeys. Even if they were just to lessons. 

 

Nimmy mewed plaintively, a sound which Teddy resisted for all of two seconds before he bent down and scooped her up to plop her into his dressing gown pocket. Nimmy purred, settling herself down into the soft material, head sticking out like a pirate cat in a crow’s nest. 

 

“You’ll get too big for that soon.” Teddy observed. 

 

They carried on. 

 

With no particular destination in mind, Teddy found himself wandering wherever the staircases led him, ducking in and out of classrooms to avoid the eyes of watchful suits of armour, or stopping to peer admiringly out of little-seen windows at the glittering frosty lawns and mysterious rugged hills. Occasionally, he caught a whiff of something sweet and undeniably Christmassy baking in the ovens, which for some reason didn't become less prevalent the further he got from the kitchen. Curious, Teddy began to let the scent guide him in the hopes that he'd find the source.

 

With Nimmy’s fluffy head poking the way, he was fairly sure of where he was going. But that didn't make him any less nervous when their path began to bend towards the dungeons. 

 

“What if it's a trick?” Teddy whispered, tip-toeing around another corner. 

 

Nimmy batted at his hand. 

 

“Yeah, alright.” He sighed. 

 

That's when he heard the music. It was quaint and old- like something off of one of his nan’s muggle period dramas. Something ladies in long dresses and men in cravats would dance to. 

 

“What's going on?” Teddy pondered aloud. 

 

“A Christmas party of course!” 

 

Teddy squeaked, jumping about a foot in the air, hair turning a lurid yellow in shock. 

 

The ghost- who had just appeared through a wall like it was a perfectly normal way to introduce oneself- chuckled “Oh I do find you students a hoot, I really do!” Her hand passed through Teddy’s shoulder as she made to slap him in the back, leaving the cruel touch of frost in its wake. Teddy shivered, and Nimmy attempted to growl threateningly at the ghost. She simply chuckled once more, and began to float down the corridor. 

 

“Come on!” She called, riding robes trailing along behind her “Don't be a wet rag!” 

 

In a daze, Teddy followed. A few minutes later, they arrived at a large portion of the dungeon that had been cordoned off years ago due to the fallen debris and impaired structure of the supporting pillars. Though magic held it up perfectly, the teachers were nervous to let students in lest a stray spell bring the whole thing tumbling down. Now, though, the dungeon was full of life. Or rather, death; ghosts of all descriptions floated around chatting and dancing, nibbling at translucent foods and- ew- kissing enthusiastically under rotten mistletoe. 

 

Dimly, Teddy recalled Uncle Harry’s account of a certain Deathday Party. 

 

“Come on!” the ghost urged him, already halfway into the crowd “Let's find you that adventure.” 

 

With a shrug, Teddy followed. 

 

****

 

“So you're telling me,” Teddy’s best friend said the moment he'd finished explaining his adventure, a week later when everyone was home “that you spent Christmas Eve learning how to dance from half ‘a the ghost population of ‘ogwarts.”

 

Teddy nodded.

 

“And then ya went an’ won a game of charades because the ghost lady you were playing against’s legs dinna actually exist because they were under ‘er skirt.” 

 

“Yeah, pretty much.” 

 

“Mate,” his friend said despairingly “either you ‘ave a serious problem or ya just save all a’ the best adventures for yousself.” 

 

Teddy laughed. This year was going to be brilliant, he could feel it.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a Christmas fic for a friend who wanted some festive Teddy Lupin adventure, and it was finished pretty quickly to get it posted in time for Christmas so may be riddled with mistakes. Oh well. Have a merry magic Christmas reader (if you celebrate)! P.S please ignore my butchered attempt to portray a northern accent through dialogue.


End file.
